How to make aquarelle paint, or discovery of the most beautiful colour

It is almost ten years ago, even though I remember clearly, the scene of when I first observed the most beautiful visual thing I could imagine.

We used to have some sort of architecture lessons, or geometrical drawing back in the days in school. As far as I remember, they always took place in the afternoon at the top of the old building. In summer it was unbearably hot and in winter it was already nighttime.

Very unpleasant and it used to be rather boring lessons, nine out of ten times. I guess in your teenage years there is more exciting things going on than some technical drawing.

However, we knew to distract ourselves from boredom pretty well. Straying around the building, hiding from the teachers behind doors and in other rooms we were not supposed to get into. I must add that I was lucky enough, that foresaid school looked rather than a Harry Potter-Scenery, than any depressing school-block built in the 80ies. Therefore, straying around was in fact an exciting pastime.

On one of our first expeditions, we found a shelve in some sort of material-storage-room, full of little colored bottles and vases.
Pigments.

Not much else to do, we opened all of them examinating the shades of reds and purples. Until we found our all-time-favorite one.

Ultramarine blue pigment.
It is the most beautiful thing to look at. The color is so vibrant, you barely find such a luminosity anywhere else.

From now on we had a place to come back to, a thing to do. Every time we would get bored or depressed during the lessons, we would come back and just look at this wonderful blue.

Until today I am very drawn to this color, and whenever I can get my hands on the pigment, I can’t help it but open the bottle and look at it. Loosing myself if just for a little moment in this endless universe, and shades of blue.

Recently I had the chance to make aquarelle paint from pigments. I don’t have to tell you which color I went for first.

I always wanted to be able to make my own aquarelle paint from pigments.

Now I have seen it, it isn’t complicated at all, as I had thought before.

You need some tools:

. glass plate

. some sort of flat, glass mortar

. a spatula

. pigments

. some arabic gum diluted in water

. something to fill in the aquarelle paint in the end

Just the process itself is beautiful.

Looks like I was too much absorbed by the beauty of this blue to take some decent photos, so let me go through the process with another colour. Orange.

...choose the pigment.

...take a spoon full of it.

...place it in front of you on the glass plate.

...wear gloves if you dont want to have coloured hands after.

...place a few drops of the arabic-gum-siroup in the pigment.

...mix it with the spatula until you get a thick paste.

...grind it with the mortar to get rid of any pigment-chunks.

...when the paste feels smooth, you fill it in your paint-container, using the spatula.

Thats it. Not that complicated is it?

As you might have noticed though my words in this post, I am quite obsessed with this blue, so I really enjoyed sharing this beauty with you.
Thanks for all the support and sharing, you are awesome!
Have a very good weekend and see you around soon.

(all photos are taken by me)